For many years, Toronto’s brides-to-be looked for their wedding gowns from various boutiques like White, Vera Wang and Ritché. Despite being a large city, no department store had a bridal salon. This will all end in early 2014, when Kleinfeld Bridal (yes, THAT Kleinfeld) opens a 20,000 square foot shop at the Queen Street store – an entire floor. While it is not nearly as big as the flagship seen on the show (35,000 square feet), it is definitely giving brides-to-be more choice compared to the tiny shops that currently exist. While I felt that the boutiques had amazing service, the smaller staff and shorter hours aren’t necessarily convenient for busy women. A bridal salon at a store like Hudson’s Bay will likely allow for more weekend and post-work appointments, assuming that it operates the same hours as the store. Smaller boutiques, for example, don’t necessarily open on Sundays or are available for, say 7 pm appointments Monday to Friday.
Kleinfeld Bridal in Manhattan
One thing that I am hoping to see is a wider range of price points. On the show, brides tend to go for gowns around the $3,000 to 5,000 mark. Though the “typical” bride in Toronto will likely spend more, the average Canadian bride spends less than $2,000 on her dress (I believe it is closer to $1,500). It would be nice to see gowns under $1,000 (especially ones by local designers) in addition to ones that are well into the upper four digits or beyond. In addition, local Canadian bridal lines as well as international designers would be great addition as well.
As for WHERE in the store? We’ll just have to wait and see. Stay tuned.
Image courtesy of Kleinfeld Bridal
